Breathe, just breathe!
by GlimerOfhope
Summary: Against her will, Serenity found herself in the middle of a family affair. Trying desperately to get out of it, she drowned.
1. Chapter 1

**Breathe, just breathe!**

Disclaimer: I don't own yugioh. I do own the plot though.

_**A huge thank to all the persons who reviewed and read my stories. **_

****

The wall clock chimed half past ten and Serenity was quite bored. There was nothing that was close to interesting on TV and she wasn't in the mood to stick her nose in a new book. Eventually she decided to go to bed and have some rest.

She was about to drift off into sleep when hard pounding on the front door made her eyes fluttered open. She bolted upright and clutched in her pyjama shirt in a feeble attempt to calm her throbbing heart. She didn't expect anyone and was all alone. Joey was gone with the male members of the gang for camping and wasn't due to come back until the day after tomorrow. As for their mother, she went to check on one of her relatives. Something caught inside her chest. What if something happened, something terrible? Bad news usually come at night when the person is the least prepared and more vulnerable. Shunning those ideas from her head; she kicked the sheets of f, got up and walked over to the front door.

Serenity opened the door cautiously, then swung it open with surprise. Her hazel eyes were round with alarm; then she blinked a few times.

There stood a boy and not anyone .Mokuba Kaiba looked ruffled and untidy; as if he had fallen out of bed with his clothes on. Serenity eyed him worriedly; a conversation with her brother replayed itself unconsciously in her mind. He'd done it before; she kept repeating to herself almost frantically, when he burst one night in Yugi's, asking for help when Kaiba Corp was taken over by the Big Five.

She was too much in daze to notice that Mokuba had already squeezed past her and into Joey's tiny apartment. It wasn't until he spoke that she came to her senses.

"May I stay here for the night?"

"Is everything alright?" She asked prying God that nothing terrible had happened.

"Yeah, yeah, everything's fine. So?" His tone was so nonchalant that her eyes grew wide.

"Won't your brother be mad when he finds out?" She tentatively asked.

"Believe it or not; if Yugi was in town, I wouldn't bother you! But if you're still not happy seeing me here, then I'll just have to go."

"I didn't mean that. It's just that…that I'm worried about your…you." She appealed. She was about to say _your_ _brother reaction_ but decided against it. The teenager that stood in front of her bore so little resemblance to the little kid she met at Battle City. He was much taller, and to her own dismay she had to tilt her head up to meet his eyes; his messy raven hair was held in a high ponytail while his bangs stick out in all different directions openly defying the laws of gravity. But what caught her attention the most was the somehow challenging look in his eyes. She found it weird and uncalled for, but she assumed that since the boy was in a quite critical age; it was kind of normal. When you are a teenager, your life is nothing but a collection of insoluble problems and funny anxieties.

Deciding to look at the bright side of things, she heaved a sigh of relief. At least Kaiba wasn't trapped in some virtual game of his own and Mokuba didn't expect her to save his brother's company or something of the genre.

Nevertheless this new situation was quite troublesome when she pondered on it. Knowing Kaiba, he will barge into Joey's apartment at any moment now. She shuddered inwardly when the scene rolled out in her mind. After all, it won't require him much equation solving to find out his brother whereabouts.

She was too absorbed in her thoughts that she practically yelped when the TV turned to thunderous volume from the living room. Mokuba had already made himself comfortable; flipping through the channels lazily. He was cosily lying on the sofa, one arm supporting his head while his hand held carelessly the remote control.

Since she couldn't come out with any theme to entertain the younger Kaiba, Serenity sat out at the kitchen sipping at her hot chocolate not before serving her unexpected guest a cup too. Besides, and judging by the stormy and somehow hurt look in his eyes, she doubted that her initiative would be greatly welcome. She needed some mental preparation herself to face the side effects of this night visit.

Serenity choked on her drink and coughed several time. 'It's time' she thought as she forcefully got up. Before answering the doorbell, She allowed herself to take a deep breath then exhaled slowly; repeating the same process a few more times. Her mind was conjuring images of heated arguments and yelling while working her way to the front door.

**a/n: yes, a new story. The next update will involve either this one or 'hidden grudges'. My ****updates will become quite sporadic from now on – and I'm sorry- mainly because of my studies and work.**

**Feel free to give me your opinions; it always helps. Thanks.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Breathe, just breathe!**

Disclaimer: I don't own yugioh

Thank you for the reviews! I hope you will like this chapter.

It was supposed to be one of those routine days when you fall asleep the night prying God that the sunshine light will inundate your bedroom in the morning, and that you will be able to bathe in its warm radiance. Serenity wondered if she will make it to that moment this time.

As intimidating as ever, Seto Kaiba stood in the doorway. He didn't seem happy, but then again when was he? Stiffly holding into the doorknob for dear life; Serenity muscles were so tense that she couldn't bring herself to let go of it. When the situation became too awkward, mainly for Kaiba, he allowed himself to take few steps inside; staring moodily around the plain hall.

Annoyance and muffled anger were interlacing in his deep voice when he asked in not a gentle tone "Is Mokuba here?"

She did try to maintain eye contact but his scrutinizing gaze bore into her soul forcing her to look away. Words that were echoing in her mind failed her, and she motioned to the living room instead. As soon as he got the piece of information he needed, Kaiba light footsteps were heard across the hall.

She wasn't sure if she should follow, but she knew she couldn't just wait there not knowing what was happening in the adjacent room. Coming to an abrupt halt when few inches separated her from the living room, she pivoted on her heel. She couldn't go further and allow herself to cross that line. For her, it wasn't right.

Instead, she returned to the kitchen and leaned on the counter. As an agonizing silence stretched in the apartment leaving her with million of scary thoughts and scenarios, Serenity found interest in a nearby napkin and began toying with it nervously. It was the closest thing that her hand got reach of. Soon afterwards, she took interest in other sets of objects and unbeknownst to her fell deeply in one of those moments where familiar things become all of sudden alive and start rambling endlessly about their states and needs, admonishing their owners about how poorly they are treated.

Meanwhile, Mokuba didn't even bother to acknowledge the presence of his older brother; his violet orbs remained glued to the screen. It was when Kaiba tuned it off using the button of the TV set that he shifted his gaze to meet his.

"I went half town to find you."

Mokuba snickered a little, then said in a swagger: "You'll be just glad that I'm not kidnapped by some of your enemies or better yet, murdered."

Kaiba crossed his arms over his chest, his glacial expression hardening and his fists slightly clenching. He took a few steps forwards, his gaze never wavering when he spoke again, voice barely containing his anger and frustration.

"Do you really think it's worthy?"

Uncertainty shadowed his previously confident look and a deep frown marred Mokuba's face as if he was considering the possibility that his brother might be right. He stood up rubbing the back of his neck with frustration; then drew a long breath to bring his raging temper to a stand still. A small note of remorse crept into his voice when he answered what appeared to be a rhetorical question.

"Look, I'm really sorry about that but right now, I don't feel in the mood to talk about it".

She was pulled out from her mental dissection of the thermos life by the sound of coughing. Mokuba rubbed the back of his neck, edged over to a nearby chair and flopped down as if he owned the place.

"Is he gone?" She ventured almost fearfully. How she felt stupid when she realized that it was her first thought or maybe her only thought since Mokuba arrival.

Giving a prolonged sigh, Mokuba growled a 'yes'.

"Could you do me a favour?" He asked immediately after, then he looked Serenity up and down; wrinkling an eyebrow, he asked playfully:

"You're not coming with us with your pyjama, right?"

Somewhat flustered, Serenity was about to argue or protest or say anything when Mokuba cut her to it, waving his hand dismissively.

"Seto has never been the patient type, besides you don't seem to have better things to do." His voice was steady with a sprinkle of well hidden pleading? Then he gave her a crooked smile meant to allay her apprehension.

Maybe the shock plagued her mind so badly that she hurried to her bedroom, fetching for some clothes in her closet until she finally decided that she couldn't afford to be picky. Kaiba was definitely not the kind of man to be patient and he would care less about her attire. So, at loss of elaborated options, she assorted dark blue jeans with a light pink t-shirt with some sort of glittery drawing across the front.

Not sure as to why, Serenity surveyed her reflection in the mirror with a critical eye and sighed dejectedly. Her outfit was so casual, plain and simple! She couldn't afford much though; Joey was practically killing himself to save for college tuition. And her mother wouldn't allow useless expenses. But she understood; they've always been short in term of money. Not a big deal!

She was ready in five minutes; grabbed her shoes and slipped them on as she ran out of the bedroom and straight into Mokuba. After making sure that the door was locked, Serenity was practically dragged by the tall teenager.

This is going to be a very long night, indeed!

a/n: Voila. I've updated both 'Hidden grudges' and this one as promised. For those who are interested, Chapter four of illusions is partially written. I took the opportunity to post those since I have some spare time. I hope you liked both.

I'll be more than pleased to hear your comments. I'm also open to your suggestions and ideas about my stories.


	3. Chapter 3

**Breathe, just breathe!**

Disclaimer: I don't own yugioh

Thank you for the review.

The Kaiba brothers were seated across each other while she seated herself willingly next to the younger sibling. After some moments spent at shifting, Serenity felt oddly out of place and a pang of nostalgia crawled into her heart. She wished she was in their small apartment surrounded by more or less familiar things. There, at least, she fitted.

Serenity had gaped at the size of the place and all the expensive things that greeted her wide eyes. If she had heard right earlier, and unless her mind was playing tricks on her, they were supposed to go somewhere; and to her disappointment this place looked nothing like any she ever went to. Thank to God, the ride didn't last long and went without major incidents. Major, because Mokuba thought that it was sort of funny to light up a cigarette which Kaiba promptly snatched, smashed, then threw it out.

And here she was, with complete strangers in the middle of a family affair. Not strangers in the literal meaning, but still. They never really conversed, and she supposed that they knew little about her as she did about them. The whispers and murmurs that started to arouse around their table didn't help either. Serenity would have gladly covered her ears with her hands; but it was childish, useless and embarrassing especially for her infamous companions.

To divert her mind from the disturbing attention _she_ in particular was receiving, she proceeded to study the menu carefully.

But her heart quickly sank at the sight of the printed figures in it. A simple small-sized bottle of mineral water cost 15 dollars! Serenity was quite sure that her purse and jeans pockets all together won't spill out more than 10 dollars. Her heart sank further when she faintly heard one _classy_ woman commenting on how poorly she was dressed; and was quite shaken by the snide remark. At that moment, she felt like crying and gulped audibly causing both Kaiba siblings to look at her; one with concern while the other's look displayed no emotion whatsoever.

"I have never been to a place like this before." She admitted shyly with a forced smile. Blushing from embarrassment, she rose slowly murmuring something about refreshing herself.

Serenity stopped at the washbasin, and felt good when the cold water came in contact with her burning skin. She looked up catching her reflection staring mutely back at her, mirroring her uneasiness. In a slow motion, she dragged her hand down her face, and then turned away from her other self. Deciding that the Kaiba brothers may need some privacy, she stalled a little more in the luxurious restroom.

When she finally made her way back to the table, Mokuba stood up and flashed her a smile she thought was both charming and enchanting. He took a seat out for her then rested one hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, Serenity, relax. It's not like you're having dinner with some strangers." Then his face wore a fake serious mask as he added thoughtfully: "Wonder what Joey will think of all that; blame it on me then!"

Serenity gave him a blank look wondering what on earth he was implying. Catching the confused and clueless look that crossed her eyes; Mokuba sighed and muttered mostly to himself.

"Well at least there is another person here who didn't change!"

"Mokuba, you said you were hungry. Have you decided yet?" Kaiba voice came to interrupt his one-sided conversation. The young teen rolled his eyes, pushed both hands into his pockets and started rocketing on his heels. Then he flopped himself on the chair again.

Even if the situation was still awkward for her, the tension that had been settled thickly between Kaiba and Mokuba seemed to have dispelled or at least lightened a bit. She was not accustomed with the details and meddling in their lives was not in her agenda at all. But she couldn't help to feel relieved to know that maybe it was just an issue of minor importance; that sole thought brightened up her mood as a genuine smile reaching her eyes illuminated her soft features.

"What's so funny?" a raspy voice inquired from nowhere.

She was actually surprised that Kaiba had paid attention to her smile and answered his penetrating gaze with a barely audible 'nothing'. She mentally slapped herself for the originality of her answer, but it would have been foolish to answer his question truthfully and risk to have one of his witty comments thrown at her, something like 'Mind your own business!' or some other phrases that may hurt her over-sensitive heart. She restrained herself from screaming when she wondered if his ever suspicious mind accused her of laughing at t him for not being able to handle his young brother.

The waiter who came with their orders created a sort of diversion for her. Since she had obstinately refused to order anything, Mokuba accepted willingly this task despite her endless protests. Now she found herself joyfully praising God for the distraction, at least her plate will keep both her eyes and mouth kind of busy.

However and in overall, it turned out that the meal wasn't as bad as she had feared. Few words were traded across the table but surely Mokuba did most of the talking, munching and crunching.

As for Kaiba, he remained faithful to his nature; he has never been a master at social situations to begin with and quite frankly she didn't complain, she preferred his silence over his crude words.

As they stood, Kaiba put quite a few bills down to cover the cost of their meal and they got out in the coolness of the summer night. The engine of the awaiting limo outside was already roaring.

"Wait a minute" Serenity blurted out "I'd rather walk home." Her gaze was riveted to the black limo but she had a certainty that both of them were looking at her as if she'd grown another head. Serenity was surprised at herself, when did she muster enough courage to finally express her discomfort even in the slightest way. She thought that she will patiently endure another ride in the limousine, but she was wrong. She clasped her hand to her lips and blushed madly while bending her head a little.

Few agonizing seconds went by when all of a sudden she heard Kaiba saying:

"Fine, take Mokuba to the mansion!"

'Take Mokuba to the mansion?' What was that suppose to mean? That he was not going? Why?


	4. Chapter 4

**Breathe, just breathe!**

Disclaimer: I don't own yugioh

**I want to thank every single person who made the very appreciable effort to review, thank you!**

She hadn't expected that when she opened the door, the Kaiba name was the last thing on her mind. Maybe, it wasn't there at all. She wasn't closer to them today than she was four years ago, and that thought never got the chance to even flirt with her mind. And now all those strange events did more than just scaring her.

Mokuba, amused to no end, looked at the couple wearily; a smirk that held so much resemblance to his brother's formed across his lips. He had seemingly caught onto some sort of hidden meaning as his face broke out into a teasing grin. His violet eyes danced with amusement and mischief when he quickly offered his unconditional blessing.

"Sure, see you later!" with a wink, he climbed into the limo and motioned to the driver to move not before tossing Serenity a quick grin, full of twisted meanings. If only she could grasp any!

Rolling his eyes, Kaiba turned to face Serenity staring at her through his usual steeled eyes. He wasn't mean enough to let the girl walk alone at this hour of the night; let alone the fact that she was dragged in here because of Mokuba in the first place.

He has always had a great sense of responsibility and he couldn't stand to be indebted to anyone, even in the slightest way.

"You said you wanted to walk!" he stated impatiently, looking supremely annoyed.

Serenity blinked, then gave a curt nod. Apparently, her brain wasn't functioning properly or maybe she was dreaming. Yes! This couldn't be real! She must have fallen asleep at home, her sub-conscience pulling this stunt on her. Kaiba loud sigh destroyed what had sounded just a few seconds ago like a very plausible hypothesis, and she promptly ordered her legs to carry her. After all, she wouldn't argue with Kaiba, he was the best in verbal foreplay.

Talking to Kaiba was never easy, according to Joey it was usually frustrating and mostly mind-numbing, that's why she made the decision to keep her mouth shut.

Focusing his unyielding attention ahead of him, Seto Kaiba took the lead, the younger Wheeler sibling a few inches behind. Feeling strangled all of a sudden, he loosened his light blue tie and slowed down his pace. He desperately needed some fresh air. Oddly enough he felt strangely at peace. Was it the fact that he managed to cool things down with his little brother, although those little tantrums of his were quite recurrent these days, or perhaps the soft breeze that made itself so rare this summer. It was a welcome sensation and a change, he conceded. It seemed to him that recently he has done nothing but dealing with incompetent employees and a hyper teenager on a daily basis.

That routine was starting to get a toll on him exasperating him to a degree he never thought himself capable of. The last few weeks alone had been littered with intense amounts of paperwork.

He will never openly admit it, but the girl was quite intriguing. She respected his personal space and didn't even try to catch up with him or ask some idiot questions as the others would have certainly done. Tea would have jumped at him, fishing for some kind of explanations and converting her friendship speeches into brotherhood ones. Thank to God that her brother wasn't there, he would have barked at him for trespassing. And that goody shrimp would have certainly tried to reason things out as a good friend would have done. What a joke! Who needs friends? They're just a hindrance.

Anyway, she did communicate a sense of serenity. It was something he missed in his life; this feeling of calm and serenity. Serenity? Wasn't this the girl's name. He hmphed, displeased by the new turn that his thoughts have taken. So much for the his stress- free walk!

He refuses to acknowledge the connection, it was a senseless supposition that his drained mind came up with.

Mistaking the reasons of his somehow odd behaviour, Serenity felt worse than before. He certainly had better things to do than _escorting _the little sister of Joey Wheeler home.

"I'm sorry."

It took him so long to respond that she started wondering if she had said anything at all. However she didn't look up or tried to speak up again.

"What for?" If she had paid more attention, she would have been able to detect a hint of veiled curiosity that peaked through his profound masculine voice.

He couldn't see her expression, her light-brown hair that seemed to be grained with blondness shielded her face; but from her voice, he could tell that she was genuinely upset.

"For being a burden, I guess."

Kaiba was staring sideways at the young beauty while slowing down his pace without even realizing it.

She got no reply but didn't expect any. She closed her eyes and exhaled, and he knew instinctively that she would say nothing more.

No more words were exchanged as they walked in silence; neither of them willing to speak. And it seemed reasonable as their worlds barely collide. They were like two diagonal lines that met at certain point then separated; Joey Wheeler being that point. The chance of them reuniting was geometrically impossible.

Silence suited them but that wasn't the case with people who started throwing odd comments at the couple. The street wasn't deserted as it had been only few days ago. The wave of heat that had kept people imprisoned into their houses had dispelled. So it was no surprise that the commotion was relatively important.

Kaiba showed no reaction and didn't seem to take a blind bit of notice of the scattered comments that were heard once and again. Serenity for her part did her best to conjure up an expression that said she was not affected. She failed miserably when she felt her face grew hotter, by every passing second. The fresh air seemed to be of assistance, but only momentarily. Of course she had an idea about what might be behind that fuss, she did read some magazines talking about the handsome businessman and the deep-seated attraction girls have for him. Some crazy girl had even the nerves to ask him if Serenity was his sweetheart but quickly trailed off when Kaiba shot her a murderous look.

Finally when she couldn't put up any longer with the rising tide of warmth that now flooded her face, Serenity rushed to cross the road after excusing herself quickly.

"I…I have to go, thank you." She stuttered

Too distracted by her fuzzy thoughts, she didn't pay attention to the traffic lights that just turned red. A sudden wave of dizziness made her hold tightly onto someone's waist for support.

"Are you going to hold onto me the rest of the night?"

That question, phrased in such a provocative manner, snapped her out the state of stupor…She contemplated his statement for a moment and soon her mouth formed the shape of an "O." Her face that had been drained from blood moments ago turned crimson. She jerked a bit and slowly tried to gain her balance back. Kaiba watched her with raised eyebrows. Using all the strength she could muster, Serenity pushed him away forcefully.

Impulsively, she clasped her hands in front of her and smiled tremulously giving Kaiba's heart a queer little twist.

"Thank you Kaiba, thank you so much!"

He was left staring dumbly at her retreating figure. He blinked; a cold chill ran down his spine when he remembered the truthful smile she had given him.

Smiling to himself or rather smirking; Kaiba stored away this particular incident, planning to use it to his advantage soon enough; hopefully.

**A/N:**** Check out my profile for an important note.**

**By the way, check out my new fic which is a parody. It's entitled**** 'Yellow rose' and revolves mainly around Kaiba and Mai and some other characters**.


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